1 Jan., 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 25 
stump waiting till it should begin to fall, when we would step back quietly. 
Suddenly the tree, probably acted upon by a light puff of air up aloft, turned 
slightly and began to fall in the direction in which we were standing. It then 
slipped over the stump. My mate, instead of standing his ground coolly, 
became panic-stricken, and ran right in the track the huge tree was shooting 
along, supported on the stump. Just as the butt reached him he fell, and I 
saw that enormous tree rear up twenty feet in the air and come down with a 
erash within a foot or so of the fallen man. At Indooroopilly a man was 
jammed three feet into the earth by a big tree acting in like manner. It not 
only killed, but actually dug his grave and buried him. 
However, we shall never get our tree down at this rate. We have made 
the belly cut, the back and quarter cuts ; we have notched our stump, and’now 
you may put your wedges in. If you wish the tree to fall towards the right 
a little, hammer up your left-hand wedge with the maul, and keep on pounding 
until the maul rebounds with a dull thud. That is a sign that the wedge will 
go nofurther till the wood is further cut. Now go to work with the saw 
again. Cut well in at the quarters; then cut ‘out the back wood. Keep 
‘hammering up your wedges. Now when you hear the tree begin to crack, 
you must keep your nerve and stick to the saw. Saw as hard and as quickly 
as you can, so as to cut the last inch, if possible, before the final separation 
takes place. As the tree gracefully bows its head for the crash, on no account 
run away. Stand fast, even with your hand on the falling giant, till you are 
quite sure that if is going clear on to the spot you decided on. Then step well 
clear, for a tree on striking the ground often rears up its butt like a dying 
whale its tail, and brings it down with a flop, perhaps 6 feet to either side, but 
you have, meanwhile, quickly got 6 feet away from danger. Running away. 
ig the most dangerous thing a man can do when felling a tree with the saw. 
When felling with an axe there is no need to run, for the tree in falling jumps 
forward clear of the stump and never “ goes back on you.” 
When timber-getting in a scrub, the timber-getter runs the gauntlet of 
several dangers. first, the head of the chosen tree is often out of sight. 
Next, it is usually bound to hundreds of other trees by stout lianas or vines ; 
vegetable ropes that hold it up, even when cut through, and cause it to defy any 
attempts at directing its fall. Then the sawyer is surrounded and hampered 
by thick-growing brushwood and young saplings, interspersed with “lawyer”’ 
and other troublesome vines. Perhaps, at the foot of the tree, where the foot 
would rest in working the saw, there is a large jumper ants’ nest, and not 
unfrequently a fine snake comes crawling along to see how matters stand. 
So that the sawyer has to look into the air, on to the ground, and watch his 
work at the same time. The first thing to do here is, of course, to provide an 
avenue of escape, by clearing away vines and undergrowth, if not all round, at 
least to the width of a clear track. 
Should a gust of wind suddenly force the tree towards the back cut, the 
saw will inevitably be jammed. If the tree refuses to answer to wedges and 
gets a decidedly wrong lean, it is useless to try and release the saw. Wrench- 
ing at it will only result in “buckling” it. Besides, in such a case, the tree 
is liable to fall at any moment, and in any direction except the right one. 
The best thing to do is to let go the saw and await developments. The tree 
may go back if the breeze dies away. When this happens, ram in your wedges 
as quickly as possible, and go on sawing. 
I once saw a marvellous escape from death, resulting from such an 
accident as I have described. My mate and I were timber-getting above the 
Seyenteen-mile Rocks, on the Brisbane River, in 1863. We got the saw 
jammed by a gust of wind. He stuck to the saw whilst the tree was groaning 
and cracking. I called to him to let go. Instead of doing so, he actually got 
in front of the tree, and caught the saw on both sides protruding from the cut, 
to try and work it out. Suddenly the tree fell. He just had time to throw 
himself at full length alongside a dead log. I saw the big tree crashing down 
aeross this log, which looked old and rotten. If it were crushed, then I would 
